Capital Report: 03-02-2012

An influential south Florida Senator is warning legislative leaders not to try to , as he put it, “sneak” things into the budget. James Call reports, St. Petersburg Senator Jack Latvala is objecting to language proposed for a transportation conforming bill that would spend money on seaports.

The Florida House has signed off on a tuition increase at two of Florida’s public universities. A plan to allow charter schools to get a slice of tax-funded public school construction money faces an uncertain future. A procedural move in the Senate has put the safety back on a parent-trigger plan, and as Lynn Hatter reports, the state’s newly approved school grading system could be delayed.

The Florida House has passed its version of a bill that supporters say will reduce auto insurance fraud. Tom Flanigan reports opponents put up a fight during final debate on the measure, all the while acknowledging that passage was inevitable….

A group of black lawmakers are urging the Florida Legislature to reverse a provision in Florida’s widely debated elections law. As Sascha Cordner reports, they claim it essentially suppresses African American voters from having their voices heard in future elections.

Next time you visit the dentist it could be the dental hygienist who numbs your gums. Regan McCarthy reports that’s one rule relating to dentistry that a measure moving through the legislature could change.